Let's not forget our disabled friends

Today is the start of the Beijing Paralympic Games.

I knew it was happening but didn't know it was today. I only knew about it when I was watching the BBC News in the afternoon and they were crossing over to Beijing live for a while. So I quickly tuned in to the other channels to see if they have a full coverage of the event. I found it in BBC One!

I installed a software not long ago to take screenshots from the TV. Am I glad it came in handy this time. They actually turned out not bad.

I may be like many of you who didn't expect much of the Paralympics. But I was so wrong. At first I thought I wasn't going to spend a lot of time on the channel then I realised I had spent close to 3.5 hours!

The sunbird and a blind singer


No one will believe these performers are deaf by looking at their synchronised moves with the music accompaniment.

Thanks to the signing instructor

I was really taken by surprise by the level of participation and preparation for the opening ceremony. It was stunning! The stadium was as filled as the opening of the Olympics on 8th August. This is like reliving the event a month ago.

It seems like the world hadn't had enough of Beijing and this is an encore to them. The Paralympic Games will never be the same again after what Beijing has shown the world.

92,000 seats filled

This little girl was injured during the Sichuan earthquake and had a leg amputated. Her dream to be a ballerina lives on. It was a moving presentation.

Performers using their hands to show the moves that correspond with the little girl's. Superb!

Over 2,000 schoolchildren performing in this one. You thought for a while, "Okay, they look colourful and cute and jumping like monkeys. That's about it right?"

Then you see this...perfect circle!

And this. Acrobatics! All 2000 of them doing it together. They just sweep you off like a hurricane!

Hey, that's us!


The culmination of the event was the lighting of the cauldron. The question in everyone's mind: "what are they going to do this time?"

Remember Li Ning was lifted up mechanically in the Olympics opening? This time this guy pulled himself and the wheelchair up to the cauldron. There was so much hard work. Apparently that was a message that this is the sort of hardship that disabled people go through in life. I thought it was quite an accurate depiction since you can feel the excruciating moment even from the TV screen. This was also very exciting as he winced in exhaustion at midway and the crowd cheered him on and on until he reached the top. When you see something like this, you just can't stop hammering your fists in the air as soon he reaches the top.

And it's finally lit up!

Recently, one of my deaf friends forwarded an article about two deaf Malaysians who won gold a medal each for badminton in the World Deaf Badminton Championship last year, were not recognised by the government. They weren't even sent a congratulatory letter! It must have been such a let down for them!

I was quite upset by this news actually. One on hand we had Lee Chong Wei getting a silver for the Olympics and a hero's welcome; and on the other we have two gold medallists being disregarded by the government! Sick shame!

I'm not saying Lee Chong Wei does not deserve anything less than a hero's welcome but I don't think our disabled badminton players deserve anything less than Lee Chong Wei's. C'mon, at least a congratulatory letter!

This issue comes at a time when we have some fruitcakes refuting that this was all a political stunt but on the other hand what I'm reading, seeing and hearing, tell me a very different story altogether verging on deceit and hypocrisy.

Anyway, whatever happened few weeks ago is now history. So let's move on.

Our Paralympians will compete in Beijing for the next 12 days. I hope there will be good media coverage in the Malaysian dailies for this event. We can't expect BBC to do that for us, can we?

Should we get a medal for the Paralympics, can someone in the government get his/her gracious butt off for a while and go to KLIA to greet this person? Thank you!